I have always said that there is always something flowering in the Western Australian bush. And it is true even in summer.
Those of you who follow my blog will know that I am a wildflower hunter, and I feel incredibly lucky to live in Western Australia.
There are more than 12,000 species of wildflowers in Western Australia, making it the world’s largest collection.....60% of Western Australian wildflowers are found nowhere else on Earth.
This is Jarrah - Eucalyptus marginata - flowering spring and summer
We have been making regular visits to Manea Park near where we live over the winter and spring months. I've shared pics of orchids with you from time to time during my Covid Photo a day project.
There has been an orchid we have been waiting to see come into flower over the last couple of months. And last week we were rewarded.
When we first saw these leaves in the middle of the year they looked so much like eucalypt leaves we didn't know they were orchids, but the wonderful people at the Wildflower Society of Western Australia on Facebook helped me with identification.
These are Slipper orchids or Western tongue orchid - Cryptostylis ovata - a summer flowering orchid endemic to Western Australia's south west. They grow in colonies and four to fifteen flowers form on each stem, though not all plants will flower each year.
There was not a lot flowering, as it is summer here, but there are still flowers to be seen. I know why I don't frequent this bush block in summer - it was hot! - and probably why there were flowers I hadn't seen before.
We had never seen this one before. Yellow starflower - Calytrix angulata. Rather gorgeous don't you think.
And the Spearwood - Kunzea glabrescens. Evidently it's long straight branches were useful to the indigenous people for making spears.
And this is the Candlestick Banksia - Banksia attenuata, also known as slender banksia or biara to the Noongar people. It reminds me so much of giant Christmas candles this time of year. This tree commonly reaches 10 metres tall and the flowers 25cms long.
You can see it at the different stages of flowering here. I love how the new leaves unfurl - as in the first two photos. The bottom right photo is the hard banksia nut.
The bees love them
Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you and yours are well and that you have enjoyed my post today. Take care and stay safe.
I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!
My corner of the world through my camera
Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global hosted by Randomosity.
Thankful Thursday
Der-Natur-Thursday
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